Altus Wealth Group LLC Purchases Shares of 7,782 The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Altus Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 7,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $527,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in KR. Sovereign Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $351,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $223,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 8.8% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 307,790 shares of the company's stock worth $20,834,000 after purchasing an additional 24,849 shares during the last quarter. Coordinated Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $282,000. Finally, Mitchell Capital Management Co. acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $5,870,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on KR shares. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $82.00 price target (up from $73.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $76.00 price objective on Kroger and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $70.00.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 5,541 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.79, for a total value of $392,247.39. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $246,349.20. The trade was a 61.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 37,960 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.44, for a total value of $2,749,822.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 75,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,448,791.92. This trade represents a 33.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 245,753 shares of company stock worth $17,688,180. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Kroger Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of KR opened at $71.40 on Monday. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $69.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market cap of $47.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.59. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $49.74 and a 52 week high of $74.11.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $45.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.35 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 1.76%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.43 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is a boost from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Kroger's payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Kroger Company Profile

The Kroger Co operates as a food and drug retailer in the United States. The company operates combination food and drug stores, multi-department stores, marketplace stores, and price impact warehouses. Its combination food and drug stores offer natural food and organic sections, pharmacies, general merchandise, pet centers, fresh seafood, and organic produce; and multi-department stores provide apparel, home fashion and furnishings, outdoor living, electronics, automotive products, and toys.

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